Texas hopes young QB set for old rivalry at Cotton Bowl

Saturday's game against Oklahoma will be just the fourth start for Tyrone Swoopes at quarterback.

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 13: Tyrone Swoopes #18 of the Texas Longhorns throws against the UCLA Bruins in the second quarter at AT&T Stadium on September 13, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.(Photo: Ronald Martinez, Getty Images)

"Some of my biggest games in high school were against one of our biggest rivals," Swoopes said. "It's going to be a lot different because that's going from barely-2A ball to D1 college football. So it'll feel the same, but of course, it'll be a lot different."

That's something he can count on. Swoopes was at the Texas-OU game last year, but spent his time on the sidelines.

"I didn't actually get to play, but I think it'll help a little bit just by me being there last year and actually knowing what the atmosphere is kind of like," Swoopes said. "I think it'll actually be a lot different [than] being on the field and standing on the sidelines, just watching."

Swoopes admitted he was nervous just playing Baylor last week, so controlling his emotions this week will be key where the atmosphere will be many times crazier.

"I was a little bit nervous," Swoopes said. "I kind of got hit a little bit and it made me a little bit nervous. We went back and watched it. After watching it, I'll say the same thing I said the other day -- I'm fine. I'll be fine."

Saturday's game against Oklahoma will be just the fourth start for Swoopes at quarterback. That's not a whole lot of experience for a game with this kind of atmosphere.

That's where his teammates come in, who promise they'll do everything they can to help calm his nerves.

"Just go out and play," said Texas wide receiver John Harris. "I mean, just knowing if you can win this one, then you can win any other game. This is about as big as it gets in the state of Texas."

"It's his second year," said Texas Head Coach Charlie Strong. "Even last year he didn't play enough, so you still have a young quarterback that you're still developing. It's going to be a game-by-game development for Swoopes as we continue on."

"I've kind of had to grow a lot faster, just kind of learning and trying to grow as quickly as possible to help the team out," Swoopes said.

In the meantime, Longhorns fans are hoping his growing pains don't last too long.